5 Star

Secrets Must be Kept Secret.

Eureka Classics brings us a 2k restoration of one of the most important Martial Arts films to come out of the late 1970s, as it shows off the talents of the Shaolin Kung-fu, and it brings the legend that is Sammo Hung (Warrior’s Two & The Prodigal Son, The Millionaires Express, Encounter of the Spooky Kind, KNOCKABOUT) to his first lead role, a baddy (boooo). Written and directed by Feng Huang (Lady Whirlwind, When Taekwondo Strikes) who captures all the action, keeping the training montages to a minimum and the fight sequences as long as possible. Brilliant stuff, and now thanks to Eureka Classics it can be owned for the first time in the UK.

Manchurian Prince Daglen (Chan Sing, The Black Panther, Iron Fisted Monk) wants to consolidate his power and to do that he wants to know all the secrets of Chinese Martial arts, and he is willing to kill to get those secrets. This in turn has made those who have those secrets also willing to kill to keep them. Prince Daglen has called for the Kunlun, Shaolin and the Wudang, to bring forth their secret books on their specialist martial arts, but they have refused to turn up at the Prince’s palace. Even those who have attended do not want to give up their secrets.

The Prince has an enforcer, a renegade monk Dummaraga (Sammo Kam-Bo Hung) who has a unique fighting style, he uses cymbals of death (yes that is what I said) which he uses to decapitate any unwilling monks that do not want to divulge their secrets to the Prince.

One of the reluctant ones is Master Gu who has the secrets of sword fighting, but after some persuasion he gets his son Little Tiger (James Tien, The Big Boss, Fist of Fury) to get the books. Thinking he has gained another secret Daglen becomes smug, but he has been duped as Little Tiger has made off with the real books. Now The renegade monk and the Prince’s right-hand man Sheng Hu give chase to the fleeing young man. Little Tiger stumbles across a run down Buddhist temple, where Shaolin Monk Puihui gives him sanctuary against Hu and Dummaraga, here we see the great fighting style of the Shaolin monks. Even when Puihui is blinded he still fights better than every one else. In the end, Little Tiger has to give up the secrets of the Wudang school of sword fighting, but vows that the Prince will not get his way and get the secrets of the Shaolin.

This is their story, of how they have to persuade the Shaolin to believe that their peaceful existence is under threat.

Another one to add to your growing Eureka Classic’s Martial Art collection, a must-have for any Martial arts fan, or action film buff.

The Shaolin Plot is available on Eureka Classics Blu-ray

SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES

Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling (First print run of 2000 copies only) | Original Mandarin mono audio | Optional English dubbed audio | Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release | New feature length audio commentary by Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth | New feature length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema | Original Hong Kong theatrical trailer | Original export trailer | PLUS: A Limited-Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver (First print run of 2000 copies only) | *All extras subject to change